Digital input circuit design for photonic integrated circuit

ABSTRACT

A device includes a photonic integrated circuit having an optical phased array. The optical phased array includes multiple array elements, where each array element includes (i) an antenna element configured to transmit or receive optical signals and (ii) a phase modulator configured to phase-shift the optical signals transmitted or received by the antenna element. The device also includes multiple digital register in integrated circuit (DRIIC) cells, where each DRIIC cell is associated with one of the array elements. The DRIIC cells are configured to receive digital inputs and to provide outputs to the phase modulators of the associated array elements in order to control the phase-shifts of the optical signals transmitted or received by the antenna elements based on the digital inputs.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to communication systems. Morespecifically, this disclosure relates to a digital input circuit designfor a photonic integrated circuit.

BACKGROUND

Next-generation optical phased arrays (OPAs) are being designed usingphotonic integrated circuits (PICs). A photonic integrated circuitrefers to a device that integrates multiple photonic or light-basedfunctions into the device. Transmitting OPAs utilize antenna elements toform transmitted optical beams, where phases associated with the antennaelements can be controlled or adjusted to perform beam shaping and/orbeam pointing. Receiving OPAs also utilize antenna elements to receiveincoming optical beams. Arrays used for transmitting and receiving canutilize antenna elements for both types of functions.

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates to a digital input circuit design for a photonicintegrated circuit.

In a first embodiment, a device includes a photonic integrated circuithaving an optical phased array. The optical phased array includesmultiple array elements, where each array element includes (i) anantenna element configured to transmit or receive optical signals and(ii) a phase modulator configured to phase-shift the optical signalstransmitted or received by the antenna element. The device also includesmultiple digital register in integrated circuit (DRIIC) cells, whereeach DRIIC cell is associated with one of the array elements. The DRIICcells are configured to receive digital inputs and to provide outputs tothe phase modulators of the associated array elements in order tocontrol the phase-shifts of the optical signals transmitted or receivedby the antenna elements based on the digital inputs.

In a second embodiment, a method includes using an optical phased arrayof a photonic integrated circuit to transmit or receive optical signals.The optical phased array includes multiple array elements, where eacharray element includes (i) an antenna element configured to transmit orreceive the optical signals and (ii) a phase modulator configured tophase-shift the optical signals transmitted or received by the antennaelement. The method also includes using multiple DRIIC cells to controlthe phase modulators, where each DRIIC cell is associated with one ofthe array elements. The DRIIC cells receive digital inputs and provideoutputs to the phase modulators of the associated array elements inorder to control the phase-shifts of the optical signals transmitted orreceived by the antenna elements based on the digital inputs.

Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in theart from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system supporting photonic integratedcircuit-based communication according to this disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example apparatus supporting photonic integratedcircuit-based communication according to this disclosure;

FIGS. 3 through 5 illustrate an example photonic integratedcircuit-based optical device according to this disclosure;

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a more specific example implementation of thephotonic integrated circuit-based optical device of FIGS. 3 through 5according to this disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example behavior of modulators in array elementsof a photonic integrated circuit according to this disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example effect of implementing an adaptive opticfunction in a photonic integrated circuit according to this disclosure;

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate example modulators in array elements of aphotonic integrated circuit according to this disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates a portion of an example layout of an optical phasedarray to support digital holography-based phasing according to thisdisclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example process for performing digitalholography-based phasing according to this disclosure;

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate example systems supporting digitalholography-based phasing according to this disclosure; and

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate an example calibration technique for anoptical phased array according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 17 , described below, and the various embodiments usedto describe the principles of the present disclosure are by way ofillustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit thescope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand thatthe principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any typeof suitably arranged device or system.

As noted above, next-generation optical phased arrays (OPAs) are beingdesigned using photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Transmitting OPAsutilize antenna elements to form transmitted optical beams, where phasesassociated with the antenna elements can be controlled or adjusted toperform beam shaping and/or beam pointing. Receiving OPAs also utilizeantenna elements to receive incoming optical beams. Arrays used fortransmitting and receiving can utilize antenna elements for both typesof functions. The antenna elements and various other components of orassociated with an OPA can be implemented using one or more PICs.

In a first aspect of this disclosure, a compact design is provided tosupport a PIC-based communication transmit/receive system. As describedin more detail below, the compact design may include laser transmitter,waveguide circuitry, and detector elements, all of which may beimplemented within a common PIC package. For example, the compact designmay include various elements, subassemblies, and systems supporting afully PIC-based free space optical (FSO) laser communication terminal orother communication terminal. In some cases, the components of thesystem can include multiple-material PICs and other components that are“flip-chip” bonded or otherwise coupled together to form an integratedlaser communication transmit/receive module or other communicationmodule. The compact design can be provided in various configurations tosupport different space-, air-, and ground-based systems.

In some embodiments, the compact design includes a front end, an OPA,and a receiver, all of which may be implemented on a single integratedchip. The front end may use silicon elements and optionally indiumphosphide (InP), gallium arsenide (GaAs), or other elements to integrateoptical, electro-optical, and electronic functionalities (such as asource laser with modulators and semiconductor optical amplifiers(SOAs)) into the optical equivalent of a microelectronic circuit. Insome cases, the front end supports a source-coherent combination of SOAswith sufficient bandwidth (such as about 3 GHz or more) to utilizeelectrically-efficient amplifiers. Also, on-chip phase control may beprovided with integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)or other silicon-based electronics. In addition, power scaling can beused to achieve desired power levels (such as about 10 W or more), whichin some instances may be accomplished using chip-to-chip distributedmulti-waveguide-to-waveguide coupling.

The OPA may include a two-dimensional (2D) array of silicon nano-antennaelements or other antenna elements, where relative phases of the antennaelements can be electronically controlled to support high-speednon-mechanical beam forming and beam steering. The array of antennaelements can also support features such as high slew rates, little or noinduced disturbances, multi-node access, adaptive optics compensation,production scalability, and improved cost. In some cases, the array cansupport a unit cell architecture with low-power resonant micro-rings orother modulators so that each antenna element can be independentlycalibrated and controlled. If desired, a supercell design (whichlogically groups multiple antenna elements and related components intomultiple supercells) can help provide routing simplicity and enablescalability in size. Also, in some cases, amplitude modulation of eachsupercell may be used to provide Taylor-weighted transmission withoptimal optical power efficiency or to otherwise provide for control ofthe transmit power. Further, on-chip active calibration may be used tocompensate for environmental factors. In addition, time-delaycompensation may be very precisely controlled, such as to withinone-tenth of the optical communication bandwidth.

The receiver may include one or more fiber-coupled photodiodes,avalanche photodiodes, or silicon-based, InP-based, or other circuits.The receiver may be used to process optical signals received by the OPAin order to recover information. In some cases, the receiver may operateas a coherent receiver with an active laser source for local oscillatorheterodyne mixing. For example, the receiver may support frequency andphase locking of a local oscillator and a reference frequency toaccommodate Doppler-shifted signals for coherent reception.

This type of design may have various advantages or benefits depending onthe implementation. For example, some embodiments of this design supportmulti-access multi-node crosslinks at terrestrial fiber communicationnetwork data rates. Some embodiments of this design allow for fast slewrates over a full angular field of regard (FOR) to support in-plane,cross-plane, and space-ground full duplex communication links. Someembodiments of this design support inertia-less beam control with littleor no exported disturbances to a host. Some embodiments of this designcan compensate for atmospheric distortions to provide large data rateincreases. Some embodiments of this design allow for fabrication usingsemiconductor wafer scale manufacturing processes, which can providecost-effective and rapid-volume production. Some embodiments of thisdesign are waveform-agnostic and can support one or both of coherentdetection and direct detection. Some embodiments of this design allowfor flexible use of transmit and receive wavelengths, which may supportcompatibility with inter-operability standards or use of non-standardcommunications (such as for covert applications). Some embodiments ofthis design provide large size and weight reductions with respect tocurrent state-of-the-art pulsed erbium-doped fiber amplifier-basedtransmitter sources. Some embodiments of this design allow for largereductions in photon-per-information bit requirements for coherentversus direct detection receiver architectures.

In a second aspect of this disclosure, the electrical interface for anoptical phased array designed with one or more photonic integratedcircuits may be very important to the overall performance of the array.This disclosure provides a digital read in integrated circuit (DRIIC)design that can be tailored to the unique characteristics of opticalphased arrays. Rather than using large break-out circuit boards anddigital-to-analog converters, the DRIIC design can have a low profileand support operations such as flip-chip bonding to a photonicintegrated circuit. In some cases, the DRIIC design integrates allPIC-related electronic controls into a hybridized or monolithic design.Also, the DRIIC design may support a unit cell architecture, where eachDRIIC unit cell corresponds to and interacts with a corresponding PICunit cell. This supports scalability of the PIC design as well as theDRIIC design to any suitable size. Overall, the DRIIC design helps tosupport various functions, such as beam forming and beam steering, incompact packages.

In a third aspect of this disclosure, phase modulations provided bymodulators of a PIC-based OPA can be controlled to provide the desiredphasing of the OPA. This disclosure provides a PIC-based OPA phasingtechnique that uses digital holography to support phasing of largenumbers of array elements (such as up to around one million arrayelements or more). As described in more detail below, digital holographycan be performed in the far-field, and a local oscillator (such as anadditional antenna element) can be provided on the photonic integratedcircuit but separate from the array elements. The use of digitalholography allows for phasing control of all elements of the array withone measurement (as opposed to addressing each element individually). Asa result, this technique provides phasing information for all arrayelements, and the phasing information can be applied in parallel tobring the entire OPA into a simultaneously-phased state.

In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, calibration techniques for theelements of OPAs are provided, where the calibration techniques can(among other things) be used to effectively calibrate numerous elementsof the OPAs, such as up to one or multiple millions of elements or more.Current calibration techniques often rely on a pair-wise analysis ofarray elements or are otherwise unsuitable for use with OPAs havinglarge numbers of elements. The calibration techniques disclosed here arebased on near-field or far-field interferometry, which enablesconcurrent calibration of multiple array elements (such as those arrayelements within each of multiple supercells). The calibration mayinclude the generation of phase curves (which may be implemented usinglookup tables in some cases) used for control, as well as the mapping ofemitter amplitudes of the array elements (which identify thetransmission amplitudes of the array elements). Note, however, that anyother suitable calibration data may be generated here.

In some embodiments, phase calibration of an OPA occurs in two stages.In a first stage, wavelength calibration occurs based on aligning thefirst-order resonances of thermal resonators used as phase modulators inthe array elements. This provides rapid coarse phase alignment of thesecond-order resonances of the thermal resonators, which are utilizedfor phase control. This may be desirable since the second-orderresonances have a larger bandwidth (such as 160 GHz full width at halfmaximum), which may be useful for communication or other signals. In asecond stage, heterodyne coherent mixing in the near-field is used togenerate phase curves for array antennas in parallel, which enablessimultaneous phase calibration of multiple array elements (such as oneor multiple thousands of array antennas) in parallel. As a particularexample, for a 1024×1024 OPA, this approach may be used to calibrate64×64 groups of array elements concurrently (although this is merely oneexample). This type of multi-stage approach is useful when thermalresonators are used as phase modulators since the amplitude of an arrayelement's output can change when phase modulation is occurring using athermal resonator in the array element. Of course, if other types ofphase modulators are used (such as PN junctions), there may be no needfor the first stage to occur.

In this way, in-quadrature coherent heterodyne measurements can be usedto enable the unambiguous generation of phase control curves and emitteramplitude maps that are used to calibrate an OPA. Also, thesecalibration techniques can be used to identify defective array elementsthat are not operating within design parameters, which allows thosedefective array elements to be deactivated or not driven duringsubsequent use of the OPA. Further, some embodiments of thesecalibration techniques allow for the use of both “bright” and “dark”near-field configurations, such as when a dark field with animage-relayed mask is used for heterodyne mixing to reduce themeasurement noise floor and provide a higher-composite beam quality(which is better absolute phase calibration). In addition, in someinstances, a concurrent far-field measurement may be used to validatethe composite system performance (such as beam quality), one example ofwhich may involve using “power in the bucket” measurements to measurepower in a receive aperture.

Note that these four aspects broadly describe various concepts disclosedin this patent document. Additional details regarding these concepts areprovided below. It should be noted here that while these concepts aredescribed as being used in a common system, nothing requires all ofthese concepts to be used together in the same implementation. Thus, forexample, a device or system may implement one, some, or all of theseconcepts.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 supporting photonic integratedcircuit-based communication according to this disclosure. As shown inFIG. 1 , the system 100 includes two nodes 102 and 104 that communicatewith one another optically. Each node 102 and 104 represents a ground-,air-, or space-based system that can transmit and/or receive data usingoptical communications. In this example, the nodes 102 and 104 canengage in bidirectional communication with one another. However, this isnot necessarily required, and the nodes 102 and 104 may engage inunidirectional communication with one another (meaning one node 102 or104 may only transmit and the other node 104 or 102 may only receive, atleast with respect to each other).

The node 102 in this example includes an optical transmitter 106, whichgenerally operates to produce optical signals 108 used for communicationor other purposes. For example, the optical transmitter 106 may encodeinformation onto the optical signals 108, such as by using suitableamplitude, phase, frequency, and/or other modulation(s) of light. Theoptical signals 108 can be transmitted through free space or othertransmission medium to the node 104, where an optical receiver 110receives and processes the optical signals 108. For instance, theoptical receiver 110 can identify the amplitude, phase, frequency,and/or other modulation(s) of light in the optical signals 108 and usethe identified modulation(s) to recover the information encoded onto theoptical signals 108. Any suitable type of modulation/demodulation schememay be used here to encode and decode the optical signals 108 (assumingcommunication is one purpose of the optical signals 108). Since thenodes 102 and 104 are bidirectional in this example, the same processcan be used in the opposite direction, meaning an optical transmitter112 of the node 104 produces optical signals 114 that are transmittedtowards the node 102 and received and processed by an optical receiver116 of the node 102.

Note that while the optical transmitter 106 and the optical receiver 116are shown here as separate components, they can be integrated into asingle optical transceiver 118. This may allow, for example, the samePIC-based structure to be used for both transmission and receptionpurposes. Similarly, while the optical transmitter 112 and the opticalreceiver 110 are shown here as separate components, they can beintegrated into a single optical transceiver 120. This may allow, forinstance, the same PIC-based structure to be used for both transmissionand reception purposes. As described in more detail below, each of theoptical transmitters 106 and 112, optical receivers 110 and 116, oroptical transceivers 118 and 120 includes at least one PIC-based opticalphased array, which is used to transmit and/or receive the opticalsignals 108 and 114.

The optical transmitters, receivers, and transceivers described in thisdisclosure may find use in a large number of applications. For example,optical transmitters, receivers, or transceivers may be used in datacenters or telecommunication systems to transport information rapidlybetween locations, including the transport of large amounts ofinformation over very large distances. Optical transmitters, receivers,or transceivers may be used in consumer or commercial electronicdevices, biomedical devices, or advanced computing devices to supportoptical-based communications with those devices. Optical transmitters,receivers, or transceivers may be used in airplanes, drones, satellites,autonomous vehicles, rockets, missiles, or other commercial ordefense-related systems. In general, this disclosure is not limited toany particular application of the optical transmitters, receivers, andtransceivers.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system 100 supportingphotonic integrated circuit-based communication, various changes may bemade to FIG. 1 . For example, while only two nodes 102 and 104 are shownhere, the system 100 may include any suitable number of nodes thatengage in any suitable unidirectional, bidirectional, or othercommunications with each other. Also, each node of the system 100 mayinclude any suitable number of optical transmitters, receivers, ortransceivers that communicate via any number of optical signals. Inaddition, the system 100 is shown in simplified form here and mayinclude any number of additional components in any suitableconfiguration as needed or desired.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example apparatus 200 supporting photonicintegrated circuit-based communication according to this disclosure. Forease of explanation, the apparatus 200 may be described as representingor being used as part of one or more nodes 102 and 104 in the system 100of FIG. 1 . However, the apparatus 200 may be used as, in, or with anyother suitable device or system.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the apparatus 200 includes a housing 202, which canbe used to encase and protect other components supporting PIC-basedcommunication. The housing 202 may be formed from any suitablematerial(s), such as one or more metals, and in any suitable manner. Thehousing 202 may also have any suitable size, shape, and dimensions. Inthis example, the housing 202 can be secured to a support structure 204,which represents any suitable structure on or to which the housing 202can be secured. A cover 206 may be removably connected to the housing202 in order to selectively provide access to an interior space of thehousing 202. The housing 202 also defines at least one aperture 208through which outgoing or incoming optical signals, such as the signals108 and 114, may pass. In this particular example, there is a singleaperture, although the housing 202 may define multiple apertures (suchas one aperture for transmission and one aperture for reception).

At least one optical transmitter, optical receiver, and/or opticaltransceiver is positioned within the housing 202 and communicates viathe at least one aperture 208. For example, in some cases, the apparatus200 may include at least one optical transmitter 210 a (which mayrepresent at least one instance of the optical transmitter 106 or 112)and at least one optical receiver 210 b (which may represent at leastone instance of the optical receiver 110 or 116). In this example, theoptical transmitter 210 a and the optical receiver 210 b are positionedside-by-side on a common support 212, which may allow the opticaltransmitter 210 a and the optical receiver 210 b to communicate via asingle aperture 208 (although this is not necessarily required). Inother cases, the apparatus 200 may include at least one opticaltransceiver 214 (which may represent at least one instance of theoptical transceiver 118 or 120) on a support 216, where the opticaltransceiver 214 can communicate via the aperture 208. For instance, theoptical transceiver 214 may support optical transmissions at one or morewavelengths and optical receptions at one or more different wavelengths.Any suitable combination of at least two optical transmitter(s), opticalreceiver(s), and/or optical transceiver(s) may also be used in theapparatus 200.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates one example of an apparatus 200 supportingphotonic integrated circuit-based communication, various changes may bemade to FIG. 2 . For example, the apparatus 200 may include any suitablenumber of optical transmitters, optical receivers, and/or opticaltransceivers that support communications with one or more externalcomponents. Also, the use of one optical transmitter and one opticalreceiver side-by-side and the use of one optical transceiver representtwo example ways in which optical transmitters, optical receivers,and/or optical transceivers can be used, but these components may beused in any other suitable manner. Further, PIC-based communications maybe used in or by a wide range of devices and are not limited to thespecific apparatus shown here. For instance, the housing 202 may insteadbe formed as a rotatable gimbal that can redirect one or more opticaltransmitters, optical receivers, or optical transceivers as needed ordesired. In addition, any other suitable components may be used with theapparatus 200 to support any other desired functions of the apparatus200. As an example, the apparatus 200 may include components thatsupport the generation and transmission and/or the reception andprocessing of beacon signals, which may be used to help identify wherethe apparatus 200 should be aimed to engage in optical communications,or other signals.

FIGS. 3 through 5 illustrate an example photonic integratedcircuit-based optical device 300 according to this disclosure. For easeof explanation, the optical device 300 is described as being used toimplement one of the optical transmitter 210 a, optical receiver 210 b,or optical transceiver 214 of FIG. 2 , which may be used in the system100 of FIG. 1 . However, the optical device 300 may be used in any othersuitable apparatus and in any other suitable system.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the optical device 300 includes a package 302,which surrounds and protects electronic and optical components of anoptical transmitter 210 a, optical receiver 210 b, or opticaltransceiver 214. For example, the package 302 may encase and form ahermetic seal around the electronic and optical components. The package302 may be formed from any suitable material(s), such as one or moremetals, and in any suitable manner. In some embodiments, the package 302is formed using a nickel-cobalt or nickel-iron alloy (such as KOVAR) orother material that has a coefficient of thermal expansion closelymatched to that of borosilicate or other glass. The package 302 may alsohave any suitable size, shape, and dimensions. In some cases, thepackage 302 may be formed in multiple parts that can be bonded, sealed,or otherwise coupled together to enclose the electronic and opticalcomponents. For example, the package 302 may be formed using a largerlower portion and an upper cover such that the electronic and opticalcomponents can be inserted into the lower portion and the upper covercan be connected to the lower portion. Also, in some cases, the package302 may include flanges 304 that support mounting of the package 302 toa larger structure. However, the package 302 may have any other suitableform.

The package 302 includes an optical window 306, which is substantiallyor completely transparent optically (at least with respect to theoptical signals being transmitted from or received by the optical device300). The optical window 306 may be formed from any suitablematerial(s), such as borosilicate glass or other glass, and in anysuitable manner. The optical window 306 may also have any suitable size,shape, and dimensions. In some cases, the optical window 306 may alsofunction as a bandpass or other optical filter that filters thewavelength(s) of the optical signals being transmitted from or receivedby the optical device 300.

The package 302 may also include one or more electrical feedthroughs308, which represent one or more electrical connections that can be usedto transport one or more electrical signals between the interior and theexterior of the package 302. The one or more electrical signals may beused here for any suitable purposes, such as to control one or moreoperations of the optical device 300. As a particular example, the oneor more electrical signals may be used for controlling the phases ofantenna elements of a photonic integrated circuit in the optical device300. In addition, the package 302 may include one or more fiberinputs/outputs 310, which can be used to provide one or more inputsignals to the optical device 300 and/or receive one or more outputsignals from the optical device 300. The one or more input signals maycarry information to be transmitted from the optical device 300. The oneor more output signals may carry information received at and recoveredby the optical device 300. In this example, there are two fiberinputs/outputs 310, although the optical device 300 may include a singlefiber input/output 310 or more than two fiber inputs/outputs 310. Note,however, that no fiber inputs/outputs 310 may be needed if all opticalgeneration and processing occurs using components within the package302, in which case the electrical feedthroughs 308 may be used totransport information to or from the optical device 300.

As shown in FIG. 4 , a photonic integrated circuit 402 is positionedwithin the package 302, namely at a location where the photonicintegrated circuit 402 can transmit and/or receive optical signalsthrough the optical window 306. As described below, the photonicintegrated circuit 402 can be used to support optical transmissionand/or optical reception, depending on the design of the photonicintegrated circuit 402. The photonic integrated circuit 402 may alsosupport a number of additional optical functions as needed or desired.The photonic integrated circuit 402 may be formed from any suitablematerial(s), such as silicon, indium phosphide, or gallium arsenide, andin any suitable manner. The photonic integrated circuit 402 may alsohave any suitable size, shape, and dimensions. As a particular example,the photonic integrated circuit 402 may be square and have an edgelength of about 40 mm, although any other suitable sizes and shapes maybe used here.

Fiber mounts 404 are used to couple to optical fibers 406 at locationswhere the optical fibers 406 can provide optical signals to and/orreceive optical signals from the photonic integrated circuit 402. Forexample, the optical fibers 406 may provide optical signals from asource laser to the photonic integrated circuit 402 for use duringoutgoing transmissions. The optical fibers 406 may also or alternativelyprovide optical signals received by the photonic integrated circuit 402to a receiver for processing. Each fiber mount 404 includes any suitablestructure configured to be coupled to an optical fiber 406. Each opticalfiber 406 represents any suitable length of an optical medium configuredto transport optical signals to or from a photonic integrated circuit402. Note that while four fiber mounts 404 and optical fibers 406 areshown here, the optical device 300 may include, one, two, three, or morethan four fiber mounts 404 and optical fibers 406. Also note that nofiber mounts 404 and optical fibers 406 may be needed if all opticalgeneration and processing occurs using components of the photonicintegrated circuit 402.

An electronic control board 408 includes electronic components, such asone or more integrated circuit chips and other components, that controlthe operation of the photonic integrated circuit 402. For example, theelectronic control board 408 may include one or more components thatcalculate desired phases for optical signals to be generated by antennaelements of the photonic integrated circuit 402, which allows theelectronic control board 408 to control beam forming or beam steeringoperations. Also or alternatively, the electronic control board 408 mayinclude one or more components that calculate desired phases to beapplied to optical signals received by antenna elements of the photonicintegrated circuit 402, which allows the electronic control board 408 tocontrol wavefront reconstruction operations. The electronic controlboard 408 includes any suitable components configured to perform one ormore desired functions related to a photonic integrated circuit 402.Spacers 410 may be positioned on opposite sides of the photonicintegrated circuit 402 and used to help separate the optical fibers 406from the electronic control board 408. The spacers 410 may be formedfrom any suitable material(s), such as ceramic, and in any suitablemanner.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the photonic integrated circuit 402 itself includesa number of array elements 502, which represent PIC unit cells of thephotonic integrated circuit 402. Each array element 502 is configured totransmit or receive one or more optical signals. The photonic integratedcircuit 402 can include any suitable number of array elements 502,possibly up to and including a very large number of array elements 502.In some embodiments, for example, the photonic integrated circuit 402may include an array of elements 502 up to a size of 1024×1024 (meaningover one million array elements 502) or even larger. The size of thephotonic integrated circuit 402 is based, at least in part, on thenumber and size of the array elements 502. As noted above, in somecases, the photonic integrated circuit 402 may be square with edges ofabout 40 mm in length. However, the photonic integrated circuit 402 maybe scaled to smaller or larger sizes (such as about 2.5 cm by about 2.5cm), while further scaling up to even larger sizes (such as about 20 cmby about 20 cm or about 30 cm by about 30 cm) may be possible dependingon fabrication capabilities.

Each array element 502 includes an antenna element 504, which isconfigured to physically transmit or receive one or more optical signalsto or from one or more external devices or systems. For example, eachantenna element 504 may represent a nanophotonic antenna or otherantenna element that transmits or receives at least one optical signal,along with one or more lenses or other optical devices configured tofocus or otherwise process the at least one optical signal. Depending onthe implementation, the antenna element 504 may sometimes be referred toas an emitter in a transmitting array or a receiver in a receivingarray. Each antenna element 504 may have any suitable size, shape, anddimensions. In some cases, the emitting/receiving surface of the antennaelement 504 may be about 3 μm to about 4 μm in diameter.

Each antenna element 504 here is coupled to a signal pathway 506. Thesignal pathways 506 are configured to transport optical signals toand/or from the antenna elements 504. For example, the signal pathways506 can provide optical signals to the antenna elements 504 fortransmission. Also or alternatively, the signal pathways 506 can provideoptical signals received by the antenna elements 504 to opticaldetectors or other components for processing. Each signal pathway 506includes any suitable structure configured to transport optical signals,such as an optical waveguide. Note that only a portion of the signalpathway 506 may be shown in FIG. 5 , since a signal pathway 506 can varybased on how the associated array element 502 is designed and positionedwithin the photonic integrated circuit 402.

A modulator 508 is provided for each antenna element 504 and is used(among other things) to control the phases of optical signalstransmitted or received by the associated antenna element 504. Forexample, when the antenna elements 504 are transmitting, the modulators508 can be used to achieve desired phases of outgoing optical signals inorder to perform beam forming or beam steering. When the antennaelements 504 are receiving, the modulators 508 can be used to applyphase control to the incoming wavefront of received optical signals inorder to decompose or reconstruct the wavefront. Each modulator 508includes any suitable structure configured to modulate the phase of anoptical signal, such as a resonant micro-ring modulator or a PN junctionmicro-ring modulator. In some cases, each modulator 508 may be aresonant micro-ring modulator that is about 5.5 μm in diameter, althoughmodulators of other sizes may be used here.

The modulators 508 of the photonic integrated circuit 402 areelectrically coupled to a digital read in integrated circuit (DRIIC)layer 510, which is used to provide electrical signals to the modulators508 in order to control the phase modulations applied to the incoming oroutgoing optical signals by the modulators 508. In some embodiments, thephotonic integrated circuit 402 can be “flip-chip” bonded to the DRIIClayer 510, although other mechanisms for electrically coupling thephotonic integrated circuit 402 and the DRIIC layer 510 may be used.

The DRIIC layer 510 in this example includes a number of individualDRIIC cells 512, where each DRIIC cell 512 may be associated with (andin some cases may have about the same size as) a corresponding one ofthe array elements 502. The DRIIC cells 512 control the phasemodulations that are applied by the modulators 508 of the array elements502. The DRIIC cells 512 may essentially function as digital-to-analogconversion devices, where digital programming (such as 2-bit, 8-bit, orother digital values) are converted into appropriately-scaled directcurrent (DC) analog voltages spanning a specific range of voltages. As aparticular example, the DRIIC cells 512 may operate to convert digitalvalues into suitable DC analog voltages between 0 V and 3.3 V, althoughother voltages (including negative voltages) can be supported dependingon the implementation.

In this example, each DRIIC cell 512 may include a register 514configured to store values associated with different phase shifts to beapplied by the modulator 508 of its corresponding array element 502. Toprovide a desired phase shift, appropriate values from the register 514are selected and provided to two amplifiers 516 and 518, which generateoutput voltages that are provided to the associated modulator 508. Theoutput voltages control the phase shift provided by the associatedmodulator 508. Different values from the register 514 are provided tothe amplifiers 516 and 518 over time so that different output voltagesare applied to the associated modulator 508. In this way, each DRIICcell 512 can cause its associated modulator 508 to provide differentphase shifts over time, thereby supporting various functions like beamforming, beam steering, or wavefront reconstruction.

In some embodiments, each DRIIC cell 512 may be used to provide arelatively small number of different output voltages to its associatedmodulator 508. For example, in some cases, each DRIIC cell 512 can causethe associated modulator 508 to provide four different phase shifts.However, other numbers of output voltages and associated phase shiftsmay be supported here, such as when up to 256 different phase shifts ormore are supported. Also, the output voltages provided to the modulators508 in different DRIIC cells 512 may be different even when thosemodulators 508 are providing the same phase shift, which may be due tofactors such as manufacturing tolerances. The actual output voltagesused for each modulator 508 can be selected during calibration so thatappropriate values may be stored in each register 514.

In this example, the actual values in each DRIIC cell 512 that areprovided to the amplifiers 516 and 518 by the register 514 over time canbe controlled using a demultiplexer 520. Each demultiplexer 520 receivesa stream of computed array phase shifts 522 and outputs the phase shifts522 that are to be applied by that DRIIC cell's associated modulator508. The phase shifts 522 output by the demultiplexer 520 can identifyor otherwise to be used to select specific values from the register 514to be output to the amplifiers 516 and 518. The computed array phaseshifts 522 here may be provided by one or more external components, suchas the electronic control board 408 or an external componentcommunicating with the electronic control board 408. While not shownhere, array-level deserialization circuitry may be used to separate andfan out high-speed digital signals to the array of individual DRIICcells 512.

Each register 514 includes any suitable structure configured to storeand retrieve values. Each amplifier 516 and 518 includes any suitablestructure configured to generate a control voltage or other controlsignal based on an input. Each demultiplexer 520 includes any suitablestructure configured to select and output values.

Note that this represents one example way in which the modulators 508 ofthe array elements 502 can be controlled. In general, any suitabletechnique may be used to provide suitable control voltages or othercontrol signals to the modulators 508 for use in controlling the phaseshifts provided by the modulators 508. For example, the approach shownin FIG. 5 allows values that are applied to the amplifiers 516 and 518to be stored in the register 514 and retrieved as needed, which allowsan external component to provide indicators of the desired values to beretrieved to the DRIIC cells 512. In other embodiments, an externalcomponent may provide digital values that are converted by differentcircuitry into analog values.

Various electrical connections 524 are provided in or with the DRIIClayer 510. The electrical connections 524 may be used to provideelectrical signals to the DRIIC cells 512, such as when the electricalconnections 524 are used to receive high-speed digital signalscontaining the computed array phase shifts 522 for the DRIIC cells 512.Any suitable number and arrangement of electrical connections 524 may beused here.

A thermal spreader 526 can be positioned in thermal contact with theDRIIC layer 510. The thermal spreader 526 helps to provide a moreconsistent temperature across the DRIIC layer 510 and the photonicintegrated circuit 402 by functioning as a heat sink that removesthermal energy from the DRIIC layer 510 and the photonic integratedcircuit 402. At times, the thermal spreader 526 may also provide thermalenergy to the DRIIC layer 510, which helps to heat the DRIIC layer 510and the photonic integrated circuit 402. Thermal energy that isgenerated by the DRIIC layer 510 and/or injected into the photonicintegrated circuit 402 may vary over time, and the thermal spreader 526can help to maintain a substantially constant temperature of thephotonic integrated circuit 402. The thermal spreader 526 may be formedfrom any suitable material(s), such as one or more metals like copper,and in any suitable manner. The thermal spreader 526 may also have anysuitable size, shape, and dimensions.

Although FIGS. 3 through 5 illustrate one example of a photonicintegrated circuit-based optical device 300, various changes may be madeto FIGS. 3 through 5 . For example, one or more photonic integratedcircuits may be packaged in any other suitable manner, arranged relativeto other components in any other suitable manner, and coupled to othercomponents in any other suitable manner. Also, any other suitablemodulation control approach and any other suitable thermal managementapproach may be used with one or more photonic integrated circuits.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a more specific example implementation of thephotonic integrated circuit-based optical device 300 of FIGS. 3 through5 according to this disclosure. In particular, FIGS. 6 and 7 illustratean example architecture 600 that may be implemented within the opticaldevice 300. As shown in FIG. 6 , the architecture 600 includes a sourcelaser 602, an OPA 604, and a receiver 606. The source laser 602generally operates to produce optical signals that are used by the OPA604 to transmit outgoing optical signals. The OPA 604 generally operatesto transmit outgoing optical signals and to receive incoming opticalsignals. The receiver 606 generally operates to process the incomingoptical signals. These components allow the architecture 600 to supportoptical transceiver functionality, although some components may beremoved from the architecture 600 if only optical transmitter or onlyoptical receiver functionality is desired.

In this example, the source laser 602 includes a laser 608, whichoperates to produce a lower-power input beam. The laser 608 includes anysuitable structure configured to generate a laser output, such as adistributed feedback (DFB) diode laser. The lower-power input beam canhave any suitable power level based on the laser 602 being used for aspecific application. In some cases, the lower-power input beam may havea power level of one or several tens of milliwatts to one or severalhundreds of milliwatts, although these values are for illustration only.Also, in some cases, the laser 602 may be fabricated using at least onegroup III element and at least one group V element and may therefore bereferred to as a “III-V” laser. However, any other suitable materialsmay be used to fabricate the laser 602. The lower-power input beam isprovided to an electro-optic modulator (EOM) 610, which can modulate thelower-power input beam based on an input electrical signal. The EOM 610can provide any suitable modulation here, such as when the EOM 610 isimplemented as a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) that provides amplitudemodulation.

A splitter 612 generally operates to split the modulated input beam intooptical signals traveling over different optical pathways. In thisexample, the splitter 612 includes a hierarchical arrangement ofsplitters 612 a-612 n, each of which can receive and split an opticalinput in order to produce two optical outputs of substantially equalpower. Note that the number of splitters 612 a-612 n and the number ofhierarchical levels of splitters 612 a-612 n can vary based on thenumber of optical signals to be produced. For example, there may be fivelevels of splitters if thirty-two optical signals are desired or sixlevels of splitters if sixty-four optical signals are desired. Note,however, that other numbers of optical signals may be produced using anysuitable number of splitters. Also note that any other suitablestructure(s) may be used to split an optical signal, such as amulti-mode interferometer or a coupler tree.

The optical signals from the splitter 612 can be phase shifted using anarray of phase shifters 614, where each phase shifter 614 can shift thephase of one of the optical signals. Each phase shifter 614 includes anysuitable structure configured to phase-shift an optical signal, such asa resonant micro-ring modulator. In some embodiments, the resonantmicro-ring modulators may be silicon-based and have diameters of about 5microns to about 6 microns, although other implementations of the phaseshifters 614 may be used.

The phase-shifted optical signals are provided to an array ofsemiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) 616. Each semiconductor opticalamplifier 616 amplifies one of the phase-shifted optical signals toproduce a higher-power version of that optical signal. Eachsemiconductor optical amplifier 616 represents any suitablesemiconductor-based amplifier configured to amplify an optical signal.Each of the amplified optical signals can have any suitable power levelbased on the semiconductor optical amplifiers 616 being used. In somecases, the amplified optical signals may each have a power level ofabout three watts, although this value is for illustration only. Theamplified optical signals can be combined and transported over anoptical waveguide 618, which allows for source-coherent combination ofthe outputs from the semiconductor optical amplifiers 616 (since theamplifiers 616 form a phase-locked array of SOAs). The combined signalis provided to a circulator 620, which provides the combined signal tothe OPA 604.

In the OPA 604, the combined signal is split by a splitter 622 so thatsubstantially equal first portions of the combined signal are providedto two waveguides 624 a-624 b. The waveguides 624 a-624 b here may havesubstantially the same length so that there is little or no phasedifference between the first portions of the combined signal exiting thewaveguides 624 a-624 b. In this example, the photonic integrated circuit402 is implemented using supercells 626, where each supercell 626includes a subset of the array elements 502. In some embodiments, forexample, each supercell 626 may include a 32×32 arrangement of arrayelements 502, although other numbers and arrangements of array elements502 may be used in each supercell 626. In this particular example, thephotonic integrated circuit 402 includes sixty-four supercells 626,although other numbers of supercells 626 may be used. Multiplesupercells 626 can be driven using the same portion of the combinedsignal from the source laser 602, which helps to simplify phase controland other operations in the architecture 600. The ability to drive allarray elements 502 in a supercell 626 collectively allows, for instance,amplitude modulation of each supercell 626 to control the transmit powerof the array elements 502 in that supercell 626.

In order to drive the supercells 626 using the combined signal from thesource laser 602, the waveguides 624 a-624 b provide the first portionsof the combined signal to splitters 628 a-628 b, such as 1×8 opticalsplitters, which split the first portions of the combined signal intomore-numerous second portions of the combined signal. Additionalsplitters 630 a-630 b, such as 8×32 splitters, split the second portionsof the combined signal into even more-numerous third portions of thecombined signal. This results in the creation of sixty-four opticalsignals, which can be used to drive the supercells 626. Note that thisarrangement of 1×8 and 8×32 splitters is merely one example of how thesupercells 626 in this specific photonic integrated circuit 402 may bedriven. Other approaches may be used to drive a photonic integratedcircuit 402, including approaches that use other numbers or arrangementsof splitters. The specific approach shown in FIG. 6 is merely oneexample of how supercells 626 of this specific photonic integratedcircuit 402 may be driven.

Time delay paths 632 a-632 b are provided between the splitters 630a-630 b and the supercells 626 in order to compensate for differentoptical path lengths to reach the different supercells 626. For example,assume that each row of supercells 626 in the photonic integratedcircuit 402 is driven using four outputs from the splitter 630 a andfour outputs from the splitter 630 b. Without compensation, differentoutputs from the splitters 630 a-630 b would reach different supercells626 at different times, which can create undesired phase differences andreduce the throughput of the architecture 600. The time delay paths 632a-632 b represent spiraled or other optical pathways that delay at leastsome of the outputs from the splitters 630 a-630 b so that the outputsfrom the splitters 630 a-630 b reach all supercells 626 at substantiallythe same time. For example, the time delay paths 632 a-632 b may delaysignals to closer supercells 626 by larger amounts and delay signals tofarther supercells 626 by smaller or no amounts. The optical signalsthat are received at the supercells 626 are used by the supercells 626to produce outgoing optical signals.

The supercells 626 may also receive incoming optical signals, which canbe transported over the waveguides 624 a-624 b and through thecirculator 620 to the receiver 606. In this example, the receiver 606includes at least one photodetector 634, such as at least one photodiodethat converts the received incoming optical signals into electricalcurrents. A transimpedance amplifier 636 converts the electricalcurrents into electrical voltages, which can then be further processed(such as to recover information contained in the incoming opticalsignals).

Note that the source laser 602 and various components of the OPA 604 maybe fabricated from different materials in order to allow for differentoptical power levels to be used in the architecture 600. For example,components of the source laser 602 may be fabricated using siliconnitride, germanium, or other materials that allow the source laser 602to generate a relatively high-power combined beam for the OPA 604. Inthe OPA 604, the waveguides 624 a-624 b and the splitters 628 a-628 bmay similarly be fabricated using silicon nitride or other materialsthat support the transport and splitting of the relatively high-powercombined beam from the source laser 602. The splitters 630 a-630 b maybe fabricated using silicon (rather than silicon nitride) or othermaterials that can split lower-power optical signals (since the opticalenergy from the source laser 602 has already been split at this point).However, the components of the architecture 600 may be fabricated fromany other suitable materials. Also note that various components of thearchitecture 600 may or may not be fabricated using one or more commonmaterials.

A portion 638 of one of the supercells 626 is identified in FIG. 6 andshown in greater detail in FIG. 7 . As shown in FIG. 7 , this portion638 of the supercell 626 includes an 8×8 arrangement of array elements502, where each array element 502 has a similar structure to that shownin FIG. 5 . As can be seen here, the structure of the array elements 502can be modified as needed or desired. These array elements 502 are fedusing a feed path 702, where splitters 704 are positioned along the feedpath 702 to split off portions of an optical signal. These portions ofthe optical signals are provided over feed paths 706, where splitters708 are positioned along the feed paths 706 to further split offportions of the optical signal. Ideally, the splitters 704 and 708 areconfigured such that each of the array elements 502 receives asubstantially equal portion of the optical signal input to the feed path702. In some embodiments, the feed paths 702, 706 and splitters 704, 708may be formed from silicon, although other materials may be used here.

In FIG. 7 , it can be seen that different path lengths exist between theinput of the feed path 702 (located at the bottom of the feed path 702in FIG. 7 ) and different array elements 502. In this particularexample, the shortest path length exists between the input of the feedpath 702 and the bottom left array element 502, and the longest pathlength exists between the input of the feed path 702 and the top rightarray element 502. As with the supercells 626 themselves, withoutcompensation, these different path lengths would cause differentportions of an optical signal to reach the array elements 502 atdifferent times. In some cases, the phase shifts provided by themodulators 508 in the array elements 502 can, among other things, beused to compensate for the different path lengths between the input ofthe feed path 702 and each array element 502. Also or alternatively,linear or other phase shifters may be used to compensate for thedifferent path lengths between the input of the feed path 702 and eacharray element 502.

Note that if each supercell 626 includes a 32×32 arrangement of arrayelements 502, each supercell 626 would include thirty-two rows of arrayelements 502, where each row includes thirty-two array elements 502.Thus, the portion 638 shown in FIG. 7 would be replicated sixteen timeswithin each supercell 626. However, it is possible for the supercells626 to each have a different number and arrangement of array elements502 as needed or desired.

In some embodiments, all of the components in the architecture 600 ofFIG. 6 may be implemented in an integrated manner, such as whenimplemented using a single integrated electrical and photonic chip. Asnoted above, for example, different components of the architecture 600may be fabricated using silicon and silicon nitride, which enablesfabrication using standard silicon-based processes. When implemented inan integrated manner, the architecture 600 may be implemented using asingle photonic integrated circuit chip, and there may be no need forcomponents such as the fiber inputs/outputs 310, fiber mounts 404, andoptical fibers 406. However, integration of the components in thearchitecture 600 is not necessarily required. Thus, for example, thesource laser 602 may be implemented off-chip or replaced using astandard erbium-doped fiber amplifier laser or other external laser. Asanother example, the receiver 606 may be implemented off-chip.

Although FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate one more specific exampleimplementation of the photonic integrated circuit-based optical deviceof FIGS. 3 through 5 , various changes may be made to FIGS. 6 and 7 .For example, this particular embodiment logically splits the photonicintegrated circuit 402 in half by using two waveguides 624 a-624 b, twosets of splitters 628 a-628 b, 630 a-630 b, and two sets of time delaypaths 632 a-632 b. However, the photonic integrated circuit 402 may belogically split into other numbers of portions or not logically split.Also, various components in FIGS. 6 and 7 may be combined, furthersubdivided, replicated, omitted, or rearranged and additional componentsmay be added according to particular needs.

As noted above, the apparatus 200 may include multiple apertures 208(which can be used with an optical transmitter 210 a and a separateoptical receiver 210 b) or a shared aperture 208 (which can be used withan optical transceiver 214 or side-by-side optical transmitter 210 a andoptical receiver 210 b). When used with a shared aperture 208, thetransmit and receive wavelengths can be separated by a suitable amountin order to allow concurrent transmission and reception of opticalsignals. For example, the transmit and receive wavelengths can beseparated by the free spectral range of the modulators 508 used in thephotonic integrated circuit 402. FIG. 8 illustrates an example behaviorof modulators 508 in array elements 502 of a photonic integrated circuit402 according to this disclosure. More specifically, FIG. 8 shows anexample graph 800 plotting how an intensity of a modulator 508 varies bywavelength. This example assumes that the modulators 508 are fabricatedin silicon and have a diameter of about 5.5 μm. Given these parameters,a 40 nm separation between the transmit and receive wavelengths isadequate. This wavelength separation helps to reduce or minimizetransmit backscatter into the receiver's detector.

Note that the free spectral range of the modulators 508 (and thereforethe separation between the transmit and receive wavelengths) can varybased on a number of factors, such as the spacing or diameter of themodulators 508 or the index of refraction of the material forming themodulators 508. Also note that wavelength separation can be supported inother ways, such as by using on-chip Bragg gratings.

Although FIG. 8 illustrates one example of behavior of modulators 508 inarray elements 502 of a photonic integrated circuit 402, various changesmay be made to FIG. 8 . For example, the specific behavior shown in FIG.8 relates to one specific implementation of the modulators 508 and canvary for other implementations.

Note that the ability to change the phases of optical signals using themodulators 508 in the array elements 502 of the photonic integratedcircuit 402 may support other functions in addition to beam forming,beam steering, or wavefront reconstruction operations. For example,atmospheric phase distortions are known to affect optical transmissions.Various mechanisms are known for measuring atmospheric phasedistortions, and these measured phase distortions may be used to adjustthe phases provided by the modulators 508. For instance, the phaseshifts provided by the modulators 508 may be adjusted to providecorrections to the measured atmospheric phase distortions. Other typesof adaptive corrections may also be made by adjusting the phases of themodulators 508, such as tip/tilt correction. Effectively, the modulators508 in the photonic integrated circuit 402 can be used to provide anadaptive optic function.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example effect of implementing an adaptive opticfunction in a photonic integrated circuit 402 according to thisdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 9 , an image 900 illustrates a beam 902transmitted without an adaptive optic function, and an image 904illustrates a beam 906 transmitted with an adaptive optic functionimplemented within a photonic integrated circuit 402. A circle 908 ineach image represents an ideal or preferred beam diameter. As can beseen here, adaptive optic compensation can significantly improve thebeam diameter, which can translate into a much higher data rate foroptical communications.

Although FIG. 9 illustrates one example effect of implementing anadaptive optic function in a photonic integrated circuit 402, variouschanges may be made to FIG. 9 . For example, the beams 902 and 906 shownhere are examples only and are merely meant to illustrate one possibleeffect of performing adaptive optic compensation using a photonicintegrated circuit.

As described above, the modulators 508 may be implemented in variousways. In some embodiments, optical phase shifts occur in each of thearray elements 502 by (i) changing the index of refraction of awaveguide carrying an optical signal or (ii) changing the charge carrierdensity of a waveguide carrying an optical signal. The first approachmay be achieved using thermal resonators, and the second approach may beachieved using PN junction micro-ring modulators. One possible advantageof PN junction micro-ring modulators over thermal resonators is powerconsumption, since PN junction micro-ring modulators may consume verysmall amounts of power (such as less than 10 μW each).

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate example modulators 508 in array elements 502of a photonic integrated circuit 402 according to this disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 10 , the modulator 508 here represents a thermal resonatorthat is implemented using a micro-ring resonator 1002 and a heater 1004positioned above or otherwise near the micro-ring resonator 1002. Themicro-ring resonator 1002 resonates based on an optical signal flowingthrough the associated signal pathway 506. Varying the temperature ofthe micro-ring resonator 1002 alters the resonance wavelength of themicro-ring resonator 1002, thereby changing the phase of the opticalsignal flowing through the signal pathway 506. Voltages can be appliedto two electrical contacts 1006 of the heater 1004 in order to createthe desired temperature change and therefore implement the desired phaseshift of the optical signal flowing through the signal pathway 506. Thevoltages applied to the electrical contacts 1006 of the heater 1004 canrepresent the output voltages from the amplifiers 516 and 518. As notedabove, different voltages applied to the heater 1004 by thecorresponding DRIIC cell 512 can cause different phase shifts to occurin the modulator 508.

The micro-ring resonator 1002 may be formed from any suitablematerial(s), such as silicon, and in any suitable manner. The heater1004 may be formed from any suitable material(s), such as one or moremetals, and in any suitable manner. The micro-ring resonator 1002 may beseparated from the heater 1004 by any suitable material(s), such assilicon dioxide. The micro-ring resonator 1002 and heater 1004 may eachhave any suitable size, shape, and dimensions. In some embodiments, themicro-ring resonator 1002 is annular and has a diameter of about 5.5 μm,and the heater 1004 is crescent-shaped and has a diameter of about 5.5μm. However, other shapes and sizes may be used here. The electricalcontacts 1006 of the heater 1004 here can be coupled to the outputs ofthe corresponding DRIIC cell 512 in any suitable manner, such as viaflip-chip bonding. A gap 1008 between the micro-ring resonator 1002 andthe signal pathway 506 may have any suitable value, such as about 150 nmto about 210 nm (±10 nm).

One portion 1010 of the antenna element 504 is identified in FIG. 10 .This portion 1010 of the antenna element 504 may represent apartially-etched portion of the material(s) forming the antenna element504. For example, this portion 1010 of the antenna element 504 may beetched about one-half of the way through the total height of the antennaelement 504. If, for instance, the material forming the antenna element504 is about 220 nm in height, the portion 1010 of the antenna element504 may be etched to a depth of about 110 nm. This arrangement may bepresent in all of the antenna elements 502, regardless of the structureof the associated modulators 508.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the modulator 508 here represents a PN junctionmicro-ring modulator that is implemented using various regions ofsemiconductor material, such as doped and undoped silicon. In thisexample, the modulator 508 is shown in cross-section for explanation.Here, the modulator 508 includes a first annular semiconductor region1102 separated from a second annular semiconductor region 1104. Theannular semiconductor regions 1102 and 1104 can represent differenttypes of semiconductor material, such as when the annular semiconductorregion 1102 represents an N-type semiconductor material and the annularsemiconductor region 1104 represents a P-type semiconductor material. Asemiconductor region 1106 (such as undoped silicon) can separate theregions 1102-1104. A doped semiconductor region 1108 is positionedwithin the annular regions 1102-1104, and a doped semiconductor region1110 is positioned around an upper portion of the doped semiconductorregion 1108. The doped semiconductor regions 1108 and 1110 can representdifferent regions of semiconductor material with different dopants, suchas when the doped semiconductor region 1108 is doped with an N+ dopantand the doped semiconductor region 1110 is doped with a P+ dopant. Anelectrical contact 1112 can be used to form an electrical connectionwith the doped semiconductor region 1108, and an electrical contact 1114can be used to form an electrical connection with the dopedsemiconductor region 1110. An electrical connection 1116 can be used toprovide a voltage to the electrical contact 1112, and an electricalconnection 1118 can be used to provide a voltage to the electricalcontact 1114.

Here, the various semiconductor regions 1102-1110 form a PN junctionmicro-ring modulator, and the electrical contacts 1112, 1114 andelectrical connections 1116, 1118 allow voltages to be applied thatalter the charge carrier density of the PN junction micro-ringmodulator. This alters the phase of an optical signal flowing throughthe associated signal pathway 506. The electrical connections 1116, 1118here can be coupled to the outputs of the corresponding DRIIC cell 512in any suitable manner, such as via flip-chip bonding. Voltages appliedto the electrical connections 1116, 1118 can provide the desired voltagedifference and therefore implement the desired phase shift of theoptical signal flowing through the signal pathway 506. The voltagesapplied to the electrical connections 1116, 1118 can represent theoutput voltages from the amplifiers 516 and 518. As noted above,different voltages applied to the electrical connections 1116, 1118 bythe corresponding DRIIC cell 512 can cause different phase shifts tooccur in the modulator 508.

As described above, each array element 502 can be associated with acorresponding DRIIC cell 512. A photonic integrated circuit 402 with alarge number of array elements 502 may therefore be associated with alarge number of DRIIC cells 512. The DRIIC cells 512 are used as notedabove to help perform functions such as beam forming, beam steering, orwavefront reconstruction. The thermal resonators or PN junctionmicro-ring modulators can be used to provide the desired phase shifts(based on the computed array phase shifts 522) in order to perform thesefunctions. Regardless of whether thermal resonators or PN junctionmicro-ring modulators are used, electrical signals from the DRIIC cells512 can be modulated at a desired rate to perform the desired function.For example, with respect to beam steering, once an optical beam issharply formed, changes in the electrical signals from the DRIIC cells512 to the modulators 508 can be used to steer the optical beam.Assuming that beam steering occurs at a rate of 10°/s in 0.01° steps,the electrical signals from the DRIIC cells 512 to the modulators 508may have a refresh rate of 10×100 (or 1 kHz). If a large collection ofarray elements 502 is used (such as around one million array elements502), error handling and encoding circuitry typically found inconventional focal plane arrays may be employed since, for example, atwo-bit digital value per DRIIC cell 512 for one million array elements502 changing at 1 kHz would equate to an inbound transfer rate of about2 Gbps. Deserializing circuitry may therefore be used in the same (butopposite) way that focal planes use serialization, which allows commandsfor numerous array elements to be carried in a reduced number ofhigh-speed digital channels. In some cases, the DRIIC cells 512 can bedesigned and fabricated using traditional (and often very simple) CMOSor other silicon-based fabrication techniques.

Although FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate examples of modulators 508 in arrayelements 502 of a photonic integrated circuit 402, various changes maybe made to FIGS. 10 and 11 . For example, the actual structure of athermal resonator or PN junction micro-ring modulator can vary as neededor desired. Also, any other suitable structure may be used tophase-modulate an optical signal in each array element 502.

FIG. 12 illustrates a portion of an example layout 1200 of an opticalphased array to support digital holography-based phasing according tothis disclosure. The layout 1200 shown here may be used in the OPA 604,which may be implemented within the photonic integrated circuit 402 ofthe optical device 300. However, the layout 1200 may be used with anyother suitable device and in any suitable system.

As shown in FIG. 12 , the layout 1200 includes an area 1202 in which thearray elements 502 are positioned. This area 1202 may include all of thearray elements 502 or a subset of the array elements 502 for the OPA604. The layout 1200 also includes an additional antenna element 1204that is positioned outside the collection of array elements 502 withinan area 1206 around or proximate to the array elements 502. Theadditional antenna element 1204 is positioned within the same plane asthe array elements 502 in order to support phasing control of the arrayelements 502. The additional antenna element 1204 here is positioned atan appropriate distance from the area 1202 and operates as a localoscillator to produce a reference signal to allow for digital holographyFourier processing. In some embodiments, the additional antenna element1204 can be selectively operated using a switch 1208 (such as a thermalswitch) so that the additional antenna element 1204 is used only whencalibrating the array elements 502. The additional antenna element 1204is used as described below to support digital holography-based phasingof the array elements 502.

Although FIG. 12 illustrates a portion of one example layout 1200 of anoptical phased array to support digital holography-based phasing,various changes may be made to FIG. 12 . For example, the area 1206around the array elements 502 may include various other components ofthe OPA, and the additional antenna element 1204 can be positioned in anotherwise-unoccupied spot in the area 1206.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example process 1300 for performing digitalholography-based phasing according to this disclosure. The process 1300shown here may rely on the presence of the additional antenna element1204 in the layout 1200 of FIG. 12 . However, the process 1300 may beused with any other suitable device and in any suitable system.

Digital holography is essentially a spatial heterodyne approach in thefar-field, where a single measurement (such as a single image capture)provides the phase of each of multiple antenna elements. In FIG. 13 , aview 1302 represents a scene that one might observe while actuallylooking at the layout 1200 at a close distance (referred to as thenear-field). In this example, the view 1302 includes a collection 1304of spots, each of which represents the output from one of the arrayelements 502. The view 1302 also includes an area 1306 with anadditional spot, which represents the output of the additional antennaelement 1204. The outputs from the array elements 502 and the additionalantenna element 1204 form a far-field image 1308, which represents animage captured at some distance from the array elements 502. The image1308 here may be referred to as a “de-phased” image since the arrayelements 502 may have a predefined, random, or other phase control or nophase control being applied to the array elements 502 that does notresult in a well-defined beam being generated and captured in the image1308. The presence of the additional antenna element 1204 acting as alocal oscillator here causes fringes or other effects in the image 1308.

A transform 1310 (such as a fast Fourier transform) is applied to theimage 1308 in order to produce complex pupil data 1312, which definesthe real and imaginary components of the data contained in the image1308. One portion 1314 of the complex pupil data 1312 can be selected,while a portion 1316 (which defines the auto-correlation of the arrayelements 502) and a portion 1318 (which defines the inverse of theportion 1314) can be discarded. A transform 1320 can be applied to theportion 1314 of the complex pupil data 1312, such as a transformfunction of arctan(Im/Re) (where Im represents the imaginary componentand Re represents the real component of the image data). This convertsthe portion 1314 of the complex pupil data 1312 into phase data 1322,where the phase data 1322 identifies the phases of the array elements502 in radians relative to the local oscillator (the additional antennaelement 1204). A function 1324 applies an inverse of the phase data 1322to the array elements 502 of the OPA to provide phasing control, and anew far-field image 1326 may be captured after the phasing control hasbeen performed. As can be seen here, the phasing control effectivelyphases the array elements 502 of the OPA so that the array elements 502form a strong optical beam in the far-field.

Note that the distance of the additional antenna element 1204 from thearray elements 502 can affect the separation of the portions 1312-1316of the complex pupil data 1312. Thus, the additional antenna element1204 may typically be positioned so that the portions 1312-1316 of thecomplex pupil data 1312 do not overlap. Also note that multiplewavelengths may be supported by the array elements 502 and theadditional antenna element 1204 to produce true time delay information,effectively supporting as a multi-wavelength distance measurementtechnique. Further, note that the process 1300 shown in FIG. 13 may beperformed at any suitable time(s). For instance, in some cases, theprocess 1300 may be performed in a factory or other controlled setting.In other cases, the process 1300 may be performed during use of a deviceor system that incorporates an OPA.

Although FIG. 13 illustrates one example of a process 1300 forperforming digital holography-based phasing, various changes may be madeto FIG. 13 . For example, the specific view, images, and phase data hereare for illustration only and can vary based on a number of factors,such as the number of array elements 502 and the position of theadditional antenna element 1204.

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate example systems 1400 and 1500 supportingdigital holography-based phasing according to this disclosure. Thesesystems 1400 and 1500 support the use of the process 1300 using theadditional antenna element 1204 in the layout 1200 of FIG. 12 . However,the systems 1400 and 1500 may be used with any other suitable device andin any suitable system.

As shown in FIG. 14 , an optical transmitter 210 a or opticaltransceiver 214 transmits outgoing optical signals, which are capturedby a camera 1402 to produce a far-field image 1404. The image 1404 isfed back to a processor 1406, such as one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),or discrete circuitry. The processor 1406 can perform the transforms1310 and 1320 and the function 1324 of the process 1300, and thecalculated phase changes can be provided to the optical transmitter 210a or optical transceiver 214 for phasing control. Note that this mayoccur any desired number of times in order to achieve suitable phasingof an array.

As shown in FIG. 15 , an optical transmitter 210 a or opticaltransceiver 214 transmits outgoing optical signals, which are reflectedfrom a mirror 1502 as a far-field image 1504. The image 1504 is thenreceived at an optical receiver 210 b or optical transceiver 214. Theimage 1504 as captured by the optical receiver 210 b or opticaltransceiver 214 is provided to a processor 1506, such as one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, DSPs, FPGAs, ASICs, or discretecircuitry. The processor 1506 can perform the transforms 1310 and 1320and the function 1324 of the process 1300, and the calculated phasechanges can be provided to the optical transmitter 210 a, opticalreceiver 210 b, or optical transceiver 214 for phasing control. Again,note that this may occur any desired number of times in order to achievesuitable phasing of an array.

Although FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate examples of systems 1400 and 1500supporting digital holography-based phasing, various changes may be madeto FIGS. 14 and 15 . For example, other arrangements of components maybe used to capture images that are processed to support digitalholography-based phasing of an OPA.

FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate an example calibration technique for anoptical phased array according to this disclosure. As noted above, insome cases, calibration of an OPA may occur in multiple stages, such aswhen thermal resonators are used as the phase modulators 508. The firststage of the calibration technique involves a coarse wavelengthcalibration that aligns the first-order resonances of the thermalresonators used as the phase modulators 508. In FIG. 16 , a portion 800a of the graph 800 from FIG. 8 is shown, where the first-order resonanceis associated with a large dip in output intensity for an array element502. This dip in intensity can be sensed by a camera (such as the camera1402) in the near-field in order to identify the first-order resonantfrequency of each phase modulator 508. Thus, a processor (such as theprocessor 1406 or 1506) or other controller (such as one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, fieldprogrammable gate arrays, application-specific integrated circuits, ordiscrete circuitry on the electronic control board 408 or otherlocation) can cause the DRIIC cells 512 to perform phase modulationsweeps (voltage sweeps) for the modulators 508 to identify the voltagesthat cause the first-order resonant frequencies of the phase modulators508 to align.

Graphs 1600 and 1602 in FIG. 16 illustrate the effects of this alignmentprocess on the array elements 502 of an OPA. As can be seen in the graph1600, the array elements 502 as fabricated have more widely-varyingfirst-order resonant frequencies as fabricated. This may be due tovarious factors, such as manufacturing tolerances. As can be seen in thegraph 1602, the array elements 502 after calibration have much moresimilar first-order resonant frequencies. Because of this, thesecond-order resonant frequencies of the array elements 502 (which areutilized for phase control) may also be more similar to one another.

After coarse wavelength calibration has occurred, the architecture 1700shown in FIG. 17 supports the second stage of the calibration process inwhich heterodyne coherent mixing in the near-field is used. In thisexample, a PIC 1702 (which may represent the PIC 402) represents orincludes the OPA being calibrated. A tunable laser 1704 generates atunable input beam, most of which is provided to the PIC 1702 and causesthe PIC 1702 to produce an optical output. The optical output in thisexample passes through a microscope objective lens 1706 and a tube lens1708, which produces a first optical beam 1710. The first optical beam1710 is composed of the optical signals produced by the array elements502 of the OPA.

A fiber tap 1712 splits off a portion of the tunable input beam from thelaser 1704, and this portion of the tunable input beam represents areference signal used in the architecture 1700. An amplitude orintensity modulator 1714, such as an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) or anelectro-optic modulator (EOM), can be used to turn the reference signalon and off in order to collect background and antenna emissionintensities as a function of the phase tuning of the modulators 508. Aphase modulator 1716 can shift the phase of the reference signal asmodified by the modulator 1714 by θ and θ+π/2. This helps to maximizethe contrast ratio of I(θ)/I(θ+π/2) of the antenna phase to thereference signal as the phase angle θ is scanned (where I(·) representsintensity). This allows a pure phase shift to be determined, whichdecouples the amplitude effects associated with phase tuning of thermalresonators (note that decoupling of amplitude and phase effects is notrequired if PN junction micro-ring modulators are used for phasecontrol).

A mask assembly 1718 may optionally be used here to apply a mask to thephase-shifted reference signal, which allows for the generation of adark field image with minimal background. The dark field with animage-relayed mask can therefore be used for heterodyne mixing to reducethe measurement noise floor. In this example, the mask assembly 1718includes a mask 1720, which helps to ensure that there is minimalbackground in the dark field image. In some cases, the mask 1720 may beprogrammable, such as when the mask 1720 represents a spatial lightmodulator. A lens 1722 expands the reference signal prior to passingthrough the mask 1720, and lenses 1724 and 1726 invert the referencesignal after passing through the mask 1720 to produce a second opticalbeam 1728 representing the dark field image.

The first optical beam 1710 and the second optical beam 1728 are mixed,and at least a portion of the mixed beam is provided to a near-fieldimaging sensor 1730. The imaging sensor 1730 can capture one or moreimages of the mixed beam, and the image(s) can be used to identifywhether or not the array elements of the PIC 1702 are properly in phase.The mixing of the beams 1710 and 1728 may be performed using anysuitable optical device(s). If desired, the mixing may be performedusing a beam splitter 1732, which also allows another portion of themixed beam to be focused by a lens 1734 onto a far-field imaging sensor1736. The imaging sensor 1736 can capture one or more images of themixed beam from the lens 1734, which again allows the image(s) to beused to identify whether or not the array elements of the PIC 1702 areproperly in phase. The imaging sensors 1730 and 1736 represent anysuitable devices configured to capture optical information, such ascharge-coupled devices (CCDs) or other sensors. Among other things, theinformation captured by the imaging sensor(s) 1730 and 1736 can be usedto identify how the phases and amplitudes of signals generated by thearray elements of the PIC 1702 vary as the phase angle θ is scanned.This information can be used to identify phase curves and emitteramplitudes for the array elements of the PIC 1702. In some embodiments,such phase curves and emitter amplitudes may serve as the calibrationdata.

Note that in the design of the supercells 626, such as in the portion638 shown in FIG. 9 , the antenna elements 504 can be arranged in aManhattan layout, which means the path length to each antenna element504 is ideally matched to x+m*2π. Here, x refers to some offsetdistance, and m is a positive integer. This design helps to ensure thatoutgoing optical signals are nominally in-phase with one another whenthey arrive at the antenna elements 504 at the peak resonance of thethermal resonators forming the phase modulators 508. This helps tosimplify the calibration and can reduce or minimize amplitudemodulations over the array.

The calibration data (such as the phase curves and emitter amplitudes)represents information defining how the array elements 502 respond tothe signals driving the phase modulators 508, which allows the arrayelements 502 to be driven appropriately in order to produce a desiredbeam forming, beam steering, wavefront reconstruction, or other effect.Once generated, the calibration data can be stored for later use. Forexample, at least some of the calibration data may be stored in theregisters 514 of the DRIIC cells 512. As another example, at least someof the calibration data may be stored in one or more lookup tables. Ingeneral, the calibration data may be stored and later used in anysuitable manner.

Although FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate one example of a calibrationtechnique for an optical phased array, various changes may be made toFIGS. 16 and 17 . For example, the coarse wavelength alignment may beomitted. Also, any other suitable technique may be used to align thephases of array elements in an optical phased array.

In some embodiments, various functions described in this patent documentare implemented or supported by a computer program that is formed fromcomputer readable program code and that is embodied in a computerreadable medium. The phrase “computer readable program code” includesany type of computer code, including source code, object code, andexecutable code. The phrase “computer readable medium” includes any typeof medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as read onlymemory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), acompact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type ofmemory. A “non-transitory” computer readable medium excludes wired,wireless, optical, or other communication links that transporttransitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computerreadable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored andmedia where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as arewritable optical disc or an erasable storage device.

It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words andphrases used throughout this patent document. The terms “application”and “program” refer to one or more computer programs, softwarecomponents, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects,classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted forimplementation in a suitable computer code (including source code,object code, or executable code). The term “communicate,” as well asderivatives thereof, encompasses both direct and indirect communication.The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, meaninclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaningand/or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof,may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, becontained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicablewith, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be boundto or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, orthe like. The phrase “at least one of,” when used with a list of items,means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items maybe used, and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, “atleast one of: A, B, and C” includes any of the following combinations:A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C.

The description in the present disclosure should not be read as implyingthat any particular element, step, or function is an essential orcritical element that must be included in the claim scope. The scope ofpatented subject matter is defined only by the allowed claims. Moreover,none of the claims invokes 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) with respect to any of theappended claims or claim elements unless the exact words “means for” or“step for” are explicitly used in the particular claim, followed by aparticiple phrase identifying a function. Use of terms such as (but notlimited to) “mechanism,” “module,” “device,” “unit,” “component,”“element,” “member,” “apparatus,” “machine,” “system,” “processor,” or“controller” within a claim is understood and intended to refer tostructures known to those skilled in the relevant art, as furthermodified or enhanced by the features of the claims themselves, and isnot intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f).

While this disclosure has described certain embodiments and generallyassociated methods, alterations and permutations of these embodimentsand methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly,the above description of example embodiments does not define orconstrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterationsare also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of thisdisclosure, as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a photonic integratedcircuit (PIC) comprising an optical phased array, the optical phasedarray comprising multiple array elements, each array element comprising(i) an antenna element configured to transmit or receive optical signalsand (ii) a phase modulator configured to phase-shift the optical signalstransmitted or received by the antenna element; and multiple digitalregister in integrated circuit (DRIIC) cells, each DRIIC cell associatedwith one of the array elements, the DRIIC cells configured to receivedigital inputs and to provide outputs to the phase modulators of theassociated array elements in order to control the phase-shifts of theoptical signals transmitted or received by the antenna elements based onthe digital inputs; wherein each DRIIC cell comprises a registerconfigured to store multiple values and output selective values based onthe DRIIC cell's digital inputs.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein eachDRIIC cell is configured to provide output voltages to the phasemodulator of the associated array element, the output voltagesconfigured to adjust the phase-shift provided by the phase modulator ofthe associated array element.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein theDRIIC cells are configured to function as digital-to-analog convertersthat convert the digital inputs into analog output voltages spanning aspecific range of voltages.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein each DRIICcell has a size that substantially matches a size of the associatedarray element.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein each DRIIC cell furthercomprises: amplifiers configured to amplify outputs from the register toproduce output voltages; wherein the register is configured to outputthe selective values to the amplifiers.
 6. The device of claim 5,wherein each DRIIC cell further comprises: a demultiplexer configured toobtain the DRIIC cell's digital inputs.
 7. The device of claim 1,wherein a layer of the DRIIC cells is flip-chip bonded to the photonicintegrated circuit.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein: the opticalphased array includes at least one million array elements; and thedevice includes at least one million DRIIC cells.
 9. A devicecomprising: a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) comprising an opticalphased array, the optical phased array comprising multiple arrayelements, each array element comprising (i) an antenna elementconfigured to transmit or receive optical signals and (ii) a phasemodulator configured to phase-shift the optical signals transmitted orreceived by the antenna element; and multiple digital register inintegrated circuit (DRIIC) cells, each DRIIC cell associated with one ofthe array elements, the DRIIC cells configured to receive digital inputsand to provide outputs to the phase modulators of the associated arrayelements in order to control the phase-shifts of the optical signalstransmitted or received by the antenna elements based on the digitalinputs; wherein each DRIIC cell is configured to provide output voltagesto the phase modulator of the associated array element, the outputvoltages configured to adjust the phase-shift provided by the phasemodulator of the associated array element; wherein each phase modulatorcomprises a thermal resonator having a micro-ring resonator and aheater; and wherein the output voltages are configured to adjust heatingprovided by the heater.
 10. A device comprising: a photonic integratedcircuit (PIC) comprising an optical phased array, the optical phasedarray comprising multiple array elements, each array element comprising(i) an antenna element configured to transmit or receive optical signalsand (ii) a phase modulator configured to phase-shift the optical signalstransmitted or received by the antenna element; and multiple digitalregister in integrated circuit (DRIIC) cells, each DRIIC cell associatedwith one of the array elements, the DRIIC cells configured to receivedigital inputs and to provide outputs to the phase modulators of theassociated array elements in order to control the phase-shifts of theoptical signals transmitted or received by the antenna elements based onthe digital inputs; wherein each DRIIC cell is configured to provideoutput voltages to the phase modulator of the associated array element,the output voltages configured to adjust the phase-shift provided by thephase modulator of the associated array element; wherein each phasemodulator comprises a PN junction modulator; and wherein the outputvoltages are configured to adjust a charge carrier density of awaveguide.
 11. A method comprising: using an optical phased array of aphotonic integrated circuit (PIC) to transmit or receive opticalsignals, the optical phased array comprising multiple array elements,each array element comprising (i) an antenna element configured totransmit or receive the optical signals and (ii) a phase modulatorconfigured to phase-shift the optical signals transmitted or received bythe antenna element; and using multiple digital register in integratedcircuit (DRIIC) cells to control the phase modulators, each DRIIC cellassociated with one of the array elements, the DRIIC cells receivingdigital inputs and providing outputs to the phase modulators of theassociated array elements in order to control the phase-shifts of theoptical signals transmitted or received by the antenna elements based onthe digital inputs; wherein each DRIIC cell comprises a registerconfigured to store multiple values and output selective values based onthe DRIIC cell's digital inputs.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereineach DRIIC cell provides output voltages to the phase modulator of theassociated array element, the output voltages adjusting the phase-shiftprovided by the phase modulator of the associated array element.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein: each phase modulator comprises a thermalresonator having a micro-ring resonator and a heater; and the outputvoltages adjust heating provided by the heater.
 14. The method of claim12, wherein: each phase modulator comprises a PN junction modulator; andthe output voltages adjust a charge carrier density of a waveguide. 15.The method of claim 12, wherein the DRIIC cells function asdigital-to-analog converters that convert the digital inputs into analogoutput voltages spanning a specific range of voltages.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein each DRIIC cell has a size that substantially matchesa size of the associated array element.
 17. The method of claim 11,wherein each DRIIC cell further comprises: amplifiers configured toamplify outputs from the register to produce output voltages; whereinthe register is configured to output the selective values to theamplifiers.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein each DRIIC cell furthercomprises: a demultiplexer configured to obtain the DRIIC cell's digitalinputs.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein a layer of the DRIIC cellsis flip-chip bonded to the photonic integrated circuit.
 20. The methodof claim 11, wherein: the optical phased array includes at least onemillion array elements; and the DRIIC cells include at least one millionDRIIC cells.